This Weeknight-Pleasant French Dessert Requires Only a Bottle of Wine and a Few Pears

Step into my condominium, and also you’ll discover many, many bottles of wine on my eating desk. My husband imports Portuguese wine, and his job includes opening and tasting plenty of fermented grape juice at eating places, bars, and wine shops. Normally the leftover wine goes to our neighbors, but when I’m feeling resourceful, I’ll incorporate it into dishes like braised brief ribs and risotto, or flip it into poaching liquid for winter fruit reminiscent of quince or pears. 

Purple wine poached pears—poire à la Beaujolaise—are a basic French dessert you may discover on the menus of bistros and brasseries: Pears are simmered with purple wine, sugar, and generally an assortment of heat spices till tender, then served with their poaching liquid. It’s a minimal-effort dessert that’s elegant sufficient for a cocktail party, but in addition easy sufficient to arrange on a weeknight. Plus, you may make the dessert as much as three days forward of once you plan to serve it, and because the pears sit of their poaching liquid, they tackle an attractive burgundy hue.

Although the dish is historically ready with Beaujolais, a fruity purple wine constructed from Gamay grapes, nearly any purple wine will work simply wonderful right here. (Until you’ve got an especially refined palate or nostril, the distinction is barely discernible.) The number of pears you utilize issues lower than the ripeness of the pears: You need them to be simply ripe and starting to melt, however not so tender that they’ll crumble throughout poaching. I’ve a gentle spot for Bartlett and Starkrimson pears—they’re each juicy and, when ripe, soften however nonetheless retain some firmness, making them best for cooking with. Their skins additionally change coloration as they ripen, supplying you with a good suggestion of after they’re prepared to make use of: Bartlett pears flip yellow, whereas Starkrimsons change into a brighter purple. When unsure, really feel your pears and inhale deeply—the fruit ought to yield barely when gently pressed and scent candy.

To present my poached pears a taste profile just like that of wintry mulled wine, I incorporate a combination of contemporary orange peel, a cinnamon stick, cloves, black peppercorns, and star anise, including simply sufficient to the wine to provide the liquid a heat spiced be aware, however not a lot that it overwhelms the pears. Whereas the pears are scrumptious when served with their poaching liquid, I wish to take it a step additional and scale back the wine for a extra concentrated sauce. After I take away the spices, I simmer the poaching liquid till it thickens to a glaze, then spoon it over the pears. Loved on their very own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or drizzle of vanilla sauce, it’s a dessert that makes me really feel like I’m sitting within the heat glow of a French bistro—even when I’m simply sitting on my sofa at house.

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